Little Things

Summer life is flying by sooner than I'd like it to. I hate to say that there are exactly seven days left before I need to go back to school. This week, I plan to get personal affairs done, eat whatever I want whenever I want, and sleep as much as I can. These past few weeks of summer have been filled with baking, sleeping, watching re-runs of Gossip Girl and Melissa and Joey (which I'm obsessed with), going out with friends and visiting family.  

{I'm in love with this tiny Eiffel Tower pendant. I bought this precious piece at the St. Louis Art Museum, which had a beautiful French art gallery.}

{This is yet another Eiffel Tower beauty. This necklace holder has been so useful to solve the problem of necklaces tangling with each other. I bought this at Michael's for about $14.}

{Baking my morning away. This is a tray of all of my specialties (according to my family's judgment). Brownies, oatmeal raisin cookies, chilenas (alfajores), and lemon bars. Head over to Recipe Index to find the recipes.}

{Round two of Life In Color! It was a night full of lights, music, gooey paint, and even unwanted rain. In addition, my friends and I got to catch up after a full two months apart. The crazy concert party was followed by a nice sleepover with my best friend.}   

Arab Weekend

WARNING: IF YOU'RE HUNGRY PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THESE PICTURES. 

The pleasures of Christmas: eating, eating, and eating! Whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit my other half of the family, they greet us with banquets of exquisite Arab food. This time was not an exception. The motive for our trip was my cousin's new born baby's beautiful baptism. My godmother or "madrina" organized the whole event for her grandson and whenever you put my madrina's name with "celebration" in the same sentence, you can bet it's gonna be priceless. The moment I saw this baby I fell inlove with him. He was so serene and peaceful. He did not moan about everyone trying to hold him. Instead, he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. His older brother, who is turning three in January, is impossibly adorable too. Sometimes I wish I had a little brother...or maybe even better-a sister. 

Day 1 

 {Hotel Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, mini cinnamon-raisin roll, a banana, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the baptism: Jumbo shrimp, Fettuccine Alfredo with salmon, salad with mixed greens, green apple, cucumber, and pomegranate seeds...May I add, my godmother made ALL OF IT}

 {I could not stay away from the dessert table. Why choose one when I can have ALL OF THEM? (muahaha). I had a brownie, a lemon bar, a mini red velvet cupcake (not in the picture), and about a hundred yogurt covered raisins and pretzels (I could not stop. They were amazing)}

{For Dinner at my aunt's house that night we had "marmahon" also known as "couscous" with chicken, "hojas de uva" also known as "dolma", and salad}

Day 2

 {Hotel Breakfast round 2: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, fresh pineapple jam on the side, two cranberry-orange biscuits (one I ate afterwards so it's not in the picture), a small alfajor de dulce de leche, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat Arab buffet: "Marmahon" or "couscous", chicken, "hojas de uva" or "dolmas", hummus with pita bread, and salad}

{Dessert table at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat buffet: Pecan bar (I had two), banana bread, and strawberries with whipped cream (not in the picture)}

I'm not even sure my clothes fits anymore. And I know this doesn't end here. Christmas is coming! 

Lemon Bars

It should be a crime for anyone in their right mind to say no to a lemon bar. Anything that has lemon is automatically delicious. Lemonade, strawberry lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon butter cookies, lemon sorbet, you name it! Other than being delicious, lemons are a huge source of vitamin C and help your body fight sicknesses. I know this because along side orange juice, lemon juice gets me back on my feet after a bad cold. Of course, eating a delicious lemon bar also provides you those benefits, right? (I wish). 

This recipe combines a deliciously buttery crust with a rich lemon filling. It is extremely easy to make and I assure you it'll be hard for you to stop eating them once you've started. 

Lemon Bars

This recipe makes approximately 12-15 small lemon bars.

Baking Time: About 25 minutes in total at 350F

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Mix all the ingredients together. Then, add to a greased pan and bake for about 10 minutes. Don't let it bake too much. Remove from the oven and add the lemon filling.

For the Filling:

• 2 eggs
• ¾ granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tbsps flour
• ½ tsp lemon peel
• 1/3 cups lemon juice
• 1 tbsp milk 

Mix all the ingredients together. Add to the baked crust and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear when it is inserted. Add sifted powdered sugar when the lemon bars are cool. Enjoy!